By Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Remarks to the American Bar Association on the global rule of law movement

November 10, 2005

Remarks to the American Bar Association on the global rule of law movement
ITEM DETAILS
Type: Speech
Location: The American Bar Association

Transcript

Sandra Day O'Connor
I want to thank the American Bar Association for all of the important work that it does to promote the rule of law and for convening this really important meeting to advance that cause. Now why? It's because the rule of law offers a basic guarantee of good government, of fair treatment and accountability. And these are the building blocks for a society that can effectively protect its citizens and help them reach their own potential. The discussions held here have underscored the urgency of promoting the rule of law, not just to realize the human potential, but also as part of an effective strategy to address some pressing social problems.

We have some critical challenges: combating terrorism, combating corruption, poverty, and the threat of pandemics. And all of these would be alleviated, in part, by a rule of law movement. But this can't be a project of just one organization, or one profession, or one country. I think each of us has a stake in the rule of law, and we have to work together toward the goal. No one country has all the answers, certainly our country does not. You've learned that in the United States, there are current threats to the independence of our judiciary and the rule of law. And I think there are problems in most countries in that regard. So one of the important contributions that this gathering has made has been bringing together a wide range of different stakeholders in the concept of the rule of law, from the private sector, from government, from media, from civil society, and from more than 40 countries.

This is, I think, where you come in, because there is no natural constituency, for example, for judicial independence, except perhaps for the responsible lawyer class. And we certainly can't trust the courts to protect themselves. For one thing, somebody has to people those courts on both sides of the bench, and those someones include many of you. And for another, much of what makes a true threat to judicial independence is the offending politician's motivation, which courts are ill-equipped to ferret out. So it seems to me that the best defense against threats to the rule of law is the maintenance and the expansion of a culture in each of our nations in which such threats are frowned on and are unlikely to even get off the ground.

But it really is for all of us to be dedicated to the practice and the promise, which makes our nations, our courts, our systems of justice, armed with the power of judicial review and protected by judicial independence, a part of the arsenal which each nation has to enforce the rule of law and protect individual freedoms. And we have so much more to gain if we work together. And I hope that all of you who participated here will continue the dialogue you began here. And work to develop some joint initiatives in the future that support the innovative legal reformers. And to identify and develop effective strategies for improvement. And to build a broad-based support in each nation for this approach. And many thanks to each one of you for being part of this, and you've been great contributors, and we are all indebted to each one of you who helped make this possible.

Thanks so much.